PRINTER'S NO. 427
No. 412 Session of 1997
INTRODUCED BY WILLIAMS, BELAN, KITCHEN, STOUT AND MUSTO,
FEBRUARY 7, 1997
REFERRED TO STATE GOVERNMENT, FEBRUARY 7, 1997
AN ACT
1 Establishing the Department of Family and Community Economic
2 Security; providing for various divisions within the
3 department; providing for powers and duties of the
4 department; providing for assistance for certain businesses
5 and economically distressed communities; establishing an
6 advisory board; and providing for eligibility for receipt of
7 services from the department.
8 TABLE OF CONTENTS
9 Chapter 1. Preliminary Provisions
10 Section 101. Short title.
11 Section 102. Legislative findings.
12 Section 103. Definitions.
13 Chapter 3. Department of Family and Community Economic Security
14 Section 301. Establishment.
15 Section 302. Secretary.
16 Section 303. Deputies and other employees.
17 Section 304. Training.
18 Chapter 5. Division of Community Recovery
19 Section 501. Definitions.
20 Section 502. Division established.
1 Section 503. Economically distressed communities.
2 Section 504. Research.
3 Section 505. Employees of authority.
4 Section 506. Oversight by division.
5 Section 507. Annual report.
6 Chapter 7. Human Resource Bank
7 Section 701. Human Resource Bank established.
8 Section 702. Loan forgiveness.
9 Section 703. Assistance from community financial institutions.
10 Section 704. Annual report.
11 Chapter 9. Work Corps Division
12 Section 901. Definitions.
13 Section 902. Division established.
14 Section 903. Responsibilities of division.
15 Section 904. Annual report.
16 Chapter 11. Family Economic Recovery Division
17 Section 1101. Definitions.
18 Section 1102. Division established.
19 Section 1103. Assessment and management.
20 Section 1104. Family advocate.
21 Section 1105. Specialized services.
22 Chapter 13. Educational Opportunities and Assistance Division
23 Section 1301. Definitions.
24 Section 1302. Division established.
25 Section 1303. Scholarship program.
26 Section 1304. Notice of program.
27 Section 1305. Annual report.
28 Chapter 15. Public Housing Division
29 Section 1501. Definitions.
30 Section 1502. Division established.
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1 Section 1503. Duty of division.
2 Chapter 17. Division of Penn Fare
3 Section 1701. Definitions.
4 Section 1702. Division established.
5 Section 1703. Duties of division.
6 Chapter 19. Family and Community Economic Security Advisory
7 Board
8 Section 1901. Definitions.
9 Section 1902. Board established.
10 Section 1903. Duties of board.
11 Chapter 21. Access to Department Services
12 Section 2101. Availability of services.
13 Section 2102. Application for services.
14 Section 2103. Referrals.
15 Section 2104. Appointment of manager.
16 Section 2105. Recovery plan.
17 Section 2106. Reassessment for further referral.
18 Chapter 23. Miscellaneous Provisions
19 Section 2301. Repeals.
20 Section 2302. Effective date.
21 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
22 hereby enacts as follows:
23 CHAPTER 1
24 PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS
25 Section 101. Short title.
26 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Family and
27 Community Economic Security Act.
28 Section 102. Legislative findings.
29 (a) Review and analysis.--The General Assembly declares that
30 a review and analysis of the following is imperative:
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1 (1) The social and economic crisis afflicting this
2 Commonwealth.
3 (2) The isolation of certain geographical, ethnic and
4 economic classes from productive and constructive
5 participation in social affairs.
6 (3) Appropriate strategies and investments to capitalize
7 on the existing but unused human and structural resources,
8 economic and social, to the betterment of the overall economy
9 and quality of life in this Commonwealth.
10 (4) The limitations of the paternal and intrusive
11 aspects of governmental attempts to reverse the situation,
12 and in particular the inadequacies of the largely pernicious,
13 self-defeating and self-perpetuating denial of full status,
14 including the opportunity to succeed or fail, to citizens
15 disadvantaged by exclusion from the mainstream.
16 (b) Findings.--The General Assembly finds as follows:
17 (1) Existing social service programs are based on and
18 directed towards "problems" which do not accurately reflect
19 the potential needs of the population, however appropriate
20 they may have been 50 years ago when they were developed.
21 (2) Existing programs, characterized as welfare, ADC,
22 transitionally needy, and other such euphemisms, are in
23 reality a patchwork of efforts to stretch, accommodate and
24 force fit new problems into old problems, without being
25 oriented or properly targeted towards the present existing
26 problems.
27 (3) The consequence, even if not the intention, has been
28 to create perpetual dependence, destructive both socially and
29 economically, serving no legitimate needs or desires of any
30 population. This has left a smaller and smaller segment of
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1 "successful" citizens to pay an increasingly intolerable cost
2 of maintenance, including incarceration.
3 (4) There are programs, whose efficacy has been tested
4 and determined, which have been employed in occasional
5 individual initiatives and in other countries. These programs
6 offer the opportunity for enabling burdensome costly problems
7 to be converted to productive contributing taxpaying private
8 sector populations.
9 (5) The critical characteristics of the appropriate
10 programs must include the following:
11 (i) Support for self-determination, individual
12 enterprise and the opportunity for independent economic
13 and social success (and failure).
14 (ii) Enhancement of and not detraction from the
15 efficacy of normal supportive social groupings,
16 specifically and especially, family, community and
17 religious structures.
18 (iii) Anticipation of and provision for substantial
19 assistance in technical areas, to complement the
20 available talent.
21 (iv) Use of rather than disregard for existing
22 leadership qualities to enable and empower existing
23 leaders to lead.
24 (v) Allowance for voluntary and profit-making
25 contributory participation by more advantaged persons and
26 groups.
27 (vi) Establishment of goals and timeframes that
28 anticipate varying degrees of success by varying persons
29 and groups.
30 Section 103. Definitions.
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1 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
2 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
3 context clearly indicates otherwise:
4 "Bank." The Human Resource Bank.
5 "Department." The Department of Family and Community
6 Economic Security of the Commonwealth.
7 "Minority firm." A business enterprise, other than a bar,
8 tavern or any other enterprise which has as its primary function
9 the dispensing of alcoholic beverages on a retail basis, that is
10 owned or controlled by one or more socially or economically
11 disadvantaged persons who are residents of this Commonwealth.
12 The disadvantage may arise from cultural, racial, chronic
13 economic circumstances or background or other similar cause.
14 Such persons include, but are not limited to, African-Americans,
15 Puerto Ricans, Spanish-speaking Americans, American Indians,
16 Eskimos and Aleuts.
17 "Secretary." The Secretary of Family and Community Economic
18 Security.
19 CHAPTER 3
20 DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY AND COMMUNITY
21 ECONOMIC SECURITY
22 Section 301. Establishment.
23 There is hereby established a cabinet-level State agency to
24 be known as the Department of Family and Community Economic
25 Security. The department, its divisions and the bank shall have
26 the powers provided for in this act and such other powers as are
27 necessary to accomplish their objectives.
28 Section 302. Secretary.
29 (a) Appointment.--The Governor shall nominate in accordance
30 with the provisions of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of
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1 Pennsylvania and, by and with the advice and consent of a
2 majority of the members elected to the Senate, appoint the
3 Secretary of Family and Community Economic Security.
4 (b) Qualifications.--The person nominated to be the
5 secretary shall possess training and experience in the field of
6 social services, economic development, public health or a
7 combination of these fields.
8 Section 303. Deputies and other employees.
9 The secretary shall appoint deputies to develop and
10 administer the divisions and the bank provided for in this act.
11 The deputies and other employees of the department shall be
12 selected on the basis of training and experience, and preference
13 shall be given to persons with personal experience with the
14 welfare system or another human service program.
15 Section 304. Training.
16 Each division and the bank shall develop and implement
17 programs to educate employees concerning the needs of clients
18 that are served by a particular division and the bank. The
19 department shall contract for provision of the training
20 programs, giving preference to small and minority firms. The
21 department shall make every attempt to engage the services of
22 firms that have a policy of training and hiring welfare clients.
23 CHAPTER 5
24 DIVISION OF COMMUNITY RECOVERY
25 Section 501. Definitions.
26 The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
27 shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
28 context clearly indicates otherwise:
29 "Division." The Division of Community Recovery.
30 Section 502. Division established.
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1 There is hereby established the Division of Community
2 Recovery within the department. The division shall have the
3 powers provided for in this chapter.
4 Section 503. Economically distressed communities.
5 (a) Creation of authority.--In the case of a community that
6 is economically distressed under the act of May 24, 1945
7 (P.L.991, No.385), known as the Urban Redevelopment Law, the
8 division shall create an authority which shall oversee the
9 economic recovery of the community. The authority, which shall
10 be an instrumentality of the Commonwealth, shall exercise the
11 powers conferred upon an authority by the Urban Redevelopment
12 Law, including the power to issue bonds.
13 (b) Job creation.--The authority shall issue bonds as
14 necessary to create jobs within the community, either through
15 expansion of existing businesses or creation of new businesses.
16 (c) Eligibility for assistance.--
17 (1) The authority shall not provide assistance to a
18 business unless the business has an established policy of
19 hiring and training recipients of welfare or SSI, veterans or
20 homeless persons. A new entrepreneurial venture shall not
21 receive assistance unless at least 60% of its principals are
22 welfare clients, have incomes that are 150% of the Federal
23 poverty level or less, are veterans or are homeless persons.
24 (2) In order to be eligible for assistance, a business
25 must have an established policy of nondiscrimination
26 regarding hiring and promotions.
27 Section 504. Research.
28 The authority shall conduct research into national and
29 international business trends and shall provide assistance and
30 expertise of any sort needed to insure the success of any
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1 business in which it invests.
2 Section 505. Employees of authority.
3 The authority shall make every effort to employ and train
4 welfare recipients, homeless persons, veterans and low-income
5 persons.
6 Section 506. Oversight by division.
7 The division shall oversee the operation of the authority and
8 shall assure that its services are appropriate to meet the needs
9 of the community it is designed to serve. An annual performance
10 audit shall be conducted by the division and shall contain the
11 following information:
12 (1) The number and the type of businesses created.
13 (2) The number and the type of businesses expanded.
14 (3) The total number of jobs created.
15 (4) The average wage of the jobs created.
16 (5) The economic impact of these efforts on the
17 community.
18 Section 507. Annual report.
19 The division shall report annually to the General Assembly on
20 the effectiveness of this chapter and make recommendations for
21 its funding.
22 CHAPTER 7
23 HUMAN RESOURCE BANK
24 Section 701. Human Resource Bank established.
25 There shall be established within the department the Human
26 Resource Bank, which shall make available loans to low-income
27 individuals for the purpose of entrepreneurial activities. The
28 loans shall be repaid by recipients at an interest rate
29 consistent with the rate charged by local lending institutions.
30 Section 702. Loan forgiveness.
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1 Any business entity with an outstanding loan shall have a
2 portion of the loan forgiven for each public assistance
3 recipient who becomes gainfully employed by the entity. The
4 amount of the loan forgiveness shall be equal to the monthly
5 grant under General Assistance or AFDC formerly received by the
6 employee and the cost of health insurance coverage, in the event
7 the employer pays for the health care benefits of the employee.
8 Section 703. Assistance from community financial institutions.
9 The bank shall seek donations from local community financial
10 institutions to create a loan fund. It shall seek the
11 participation of local community financial institutions for the
12 purpose of gaining technical expertise and investment advice.
13 The bank may also seek tax credits for investments.
14 Section 704. Annual report.
15 An annual report shall be submitted to the General Assembly
16 by the principals of the bank consisting of the following:
17 (1) The number and type of businesses assisted or
18 created.
19 (2) The number of welfare recipients hired by entities
20 that were expanded or created.
21 (3) The savings to the welfare system achieved by moving
22 recipients off the welfare system.
23 CHAPTER 9
24 WORK CORPS DIVISION
25 Section 901. Definitions.
26 The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
27 shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
28 context clearly indicates otherwise:
29 "Division." The Work Corps Division.
30 Section 902. Division established.
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1 There shall be established within the department the Work
2 Corps Division.
3 Section 903. Responsibilities of division.
4 (a) Work readiness program.--The division shall develop and
5 contract for services for the operation of a work readiness
6 program. The elements of the program shall include, but need not
7 be limited to, the following:
8 (1) Instruction in resume writing and job application
9 procedures.
10 (2) Job interviewing skills.
11 (3) Development and maintenance of responsible work
12 attitudes.
13 (4) The fundamentals of employer-employee relations.
14 (b) Other responsibilities.--The division shall also assess
15 the needs of and provide assistance regarding work-related
16 transportation, appropriate work attire, day care and other
17 services required by a person in order to obtain and maintain
18 employment.
19 Section 904. Annual report.
20 The division shall submit an annual report of its activities
21 to the General Assembly.
22 CHAPTER 11
23 FAMILY ECONOMIC RECOVERY DIVISION
24 Section 1101. Definitions.
25 The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
26 shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
27 context clearly indicates otherwise:
28 "Division." The Family Economic Recovery Division.
29 Section 1102. Division established.
30 There is hereby established within the department the Family
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1 Economic Recovery Division. The duty of the division shall be to
2 assist families, both as individuals and as a unit, to assure
3 timely referrals to the appropriate divisions within the
4 department.
5 Section 1103. Assessment and management.
6 The division shall, in addition to assisting in referrals
7 under section 1102, provide the following services:
8 (1) Health care assessments.
9 (2) Preparation for employment, including providing
10 transportation and day-care assistance.
11 (3) Family unit management which shall involve
12 assessment of the relationships between and among family
13 members and recommendations and referrals for services that
14 are needed to preserve and enhance the integrity of the
15 family unit.
16 Section 1104. Family advocate.
17 (a) Assignment.--Upon request, the division shall assign a
18 family advocate to the family.
19 (b) Duties.--The family advocate shall have the
20 responsibility of insuring that each family member has a plan to
21 become self-sufficient. The family advocate shall coordinate
22 delivery of services with other professionals, including family
23 physicians, school counselors and parole officers, and shall
24 serve as an advocate and liaison for individual family member
25 needs.
26 (c) Qualifications.--All family advocates assigned under
27 this chapter shall be social workers.
28 Section 1105. Specialized services.
29 The family advocate shall recognize that each individual has
30 specific needs and shall tailor the delivery of services so as
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1 to properly address specific individual needs.
2 CHAPTER 13
3 EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND
4 ASSISTANCE DIVISION
5 Section 1301. Definitions.
6 The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
7 shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
8 context clearly indicates otherwise:
9 "Division." The Educational Opportunities and Assistance
10 Division.
11 Section 1302. Division established.
12 There is hereby established the Division of Educational
13 Opportunities and Assistance within the department.
14 Section 1303. Scholarship program.
15 The division shall develop in cooperation with the Department
16 of Education a program that requires State-aided universities
17 and colleges to provide scholarships for AFDC families. The
18 number and amount of scholarships that will be provided by each
19 university or college shall be determined jointly by the
20 division and the Department of Education.
21 Section 1304. Notice of program.
22 The Department of Education shall insure that all AFDC
23 recipients receive notice of the scholarship program established
24 under this chapter. School districts throughout this
25 Commonwealth shall be required to disseminate information
26 regarding the scholarship program.
27 Section 1305. Annual report.
28 The division shall make an annual report of its activities to
29 the General Assembly. The report shall evaluate the effects of
30 outreach programs and shall include the number of children and
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1 families who have participated in the program established under
2 this chapter.
3 CHAPTER 15
4 PUBLIC HOUSING DIVISION
5 Section 1501. Definitions.
6 The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
7 shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
8 context clearly indicates otherwise:
9 "Division." The Division of Public Housing.
10 Section 1502. Division established.
11 There is hereby established the Division of Public Housing
12 within the department.
13 Section 1503. Duty of division.
14 The division shall have the duty to insure that residents of
15 public housing are provided with services that may be required
16 to meet their needs.
17 CHAPTER 17
18 DIVISION OF PENN FARE
19 Section 1701. Definitions.
20 The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
21 shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
22 context clearly indicates otherwise:
23 "Division." The Division of Penn Fare.
24 Section 1702. Division established.
25 There is hereby established the Division of Penn Fare within
26 the department.
27 Section 1703. Duties of division.
28 (a) Evaluation of available positions.--The division shall
29 evaluate each available job classification in all Commonwealth
30 departments and agencies to determine available positions and
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1 shall design training and educational programs which will assure
2 that persons who qualify for public assistance, homeless persons
3 and low-income individuals can qualify for these positions.
4 (b) Study of departments and agencies.--The division shall
5 conduct a study of all Commonwealth departments and agencies to
6 determine the number of employees who have at any time been
7 hired from the public assistance rolls.
8 (c) Health services outreach program.--The division shall
9 also develop a program under which recipients will be trained in
10 health services outreach and allied health delivery. The
11 division shall develop a network of employees who are former
12 recipients to work in the field to assure that all recipients
13 and former recipients of assistance have a means of access to
14 the medical care system.
15 CHAPTER 19
16 FAMILY AND COMMUNITY ECONOMIC SECURITY
17 ADVISORY BOARD
18 Section 1901. Definitions.
19 The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
20 shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
21 context clearly indicates otherwise:
22 "Board." The Family and Community Economic Security Advisory
23 Board.
24 Section 1902. Board established.
25 There is hereby established within the department the Family
26 and Community Economic Security Advisory Board. The board shall
27 consist of the following:
28 (1) The Secretary of Health or a designee.
29 (2) The Secretary of Public Welfare or a designee.
30 (3) The Secretary of Community Affairs or a designee.
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1 (4) The Secretary of Education or a designee.
2 (5) Ten former or current recipients of public
3 assistance appointed by the secretary.
4 Section 1903. Duties of board.
5 The board shall assess all available Federal and Commonwealth
6 programs designed to assist low-income persons and families to
7 assure that every available program has been implemented. The
8 board shall serve in a capacity advisory to both the General
9 Assembly and the department and shall assure interdepartmental
10 activity designed to address every possible social and economic
11 need of low-income persons. The goal of the board shall be to
12 insure that total family independence is achieved through all
13 available systems to produce a whole, self-supporting,
14 economically independent family unit or individual.
15 CHAPTER 21
16 ACCESS TO DEPARTMENT SERVICES
17 Section 2101. Availability of services.
18 Services provided by the department shall be available to all
19 low-income residents of this Commonwealth and their families
20 whose income is 150% of the Federal poverty level, or less, as
21 well as the homeless and all veterans.
22 Section 2102. Application for services.
23 A person seeking services from the department shall initially
24 apply through an intake division and must be willing to submit
25 to complete services management and assessment. Payments of
26 General Assistance, AFDC, Medical Assistance and other qualified
27 services will be provided for as long as possible during the
28 time period that the family or individual is receiving services
29 from the department.
30 Section 2103. Referrals.
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1 After assessment, referrals shall be made, based on a case
2 plan developed through the department's assessment process. The
3 individual or family shall be further evaluated by each division
4 to which the individual or family is referred, and an action
5 plan shall be developed.
6 Section 2104. Appointment of manager.
7 A department manager shall be assigned to each family unit
8 for the duration of its participation in the program.
9 Section 2105. Recovery plan.
10 At the point of recovery, when the family will terminate
11 actual family management, a recovery plan will be developed
12 which will be a joint design by all the divisions to which the
13 family unit was referred. During the recovery period, the family
14 unit will maintain a point of contact within the department,
15 which will do continuing follow-up with the family unit.
16 Section 2106. Reassessment for further referral.
17 Recipients of department-provided services shall be
18 encouraged to return to the department during the recovery
19 period when they experience difficulties, to be reassessed for
20 further referral.
21 CHAPTER 23
22 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
23 Section 2301. Repeals.
24 All acts and parts of acts are repealed insofar as they are
25 inconsistent with this act.
26 Section 2302. Effective date.
27 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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